January 25, 2022 4:15 am
NEW YORK (AP) – New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced the city will step up efforts to seize illegal guns and institute a multi-pronged plan to tackle the issue. Adams, who retired from the NYPD as a captain in 2006, was elected last year to steer the nation’s largest city after a campaign where he stood as tougher on crime than some of his fellow Democrats. The issue is now at the forefront of his young administration after a startling string of violence that’s shaken the city of nearly 9 million people and emboldened critics who say criminal justice reforms and lax prosecutors are to blame for eroding hard-won declines in shootings and murders.
January 25, 2022 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has called a Fox News reporter a vulgarity after the reporter asked him a question about inflation. The president was in the East Room of the White House on Monday to convene a meeting of his Competition Council. The panel is focused on changing regulations to help consumers deal with high prices. Several of the gathered reporters shouted questions to the president when he concluded his remarks. Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked Biden if inflation was a political liability. Biden responded with sarcasm, saying inflation was a “great asset.” And then he added a vulgar phrase beginning with “son of a” about the reporter.
January 25, 2022 4:13 am
DALLAS (AP) – Despite being vaccinated and boosted, Elton John has contracted COVID-19 and is postponing two farewell concert dates in Dallas. A statement says John “is experiencing only mild symptoms” and the superstar is looking forward to returning to the stage “shortly.” John was due to hit the American Airlines Center stage on Jan. 25 and Jan. 26 but the statement says fans “should hold on to their tickets as they will be honored at the rescheduled dates to be announced soon.” John’s rescheduled 2020 North American tour kicked off on Jan. 19 in New Orleans. (Photo: AP)
January 25, 2022 4:11 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korean military officials say North Korea test-fired two suspected cruise missiles in its fifth round of weapons launches this month. North Korea has been increasing its testing activity recently in an apparent effort to pressure the Biden administration over stalled nuclear diplomacy. One official said intelligence officials were analyzing the launches. Another said they were made from inland North Korea. North Korea previously issued a veiled threat to resume the testing of nuclear explosives and long-range missiles targeting the American homeland, which leader Kim Jong Un suspended in 2018 while initiating diplomacy with the United States.
January 25, 2022 4:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Commerce Department says the U.S. supply of computer chips has fallen to alarmingly low levels, raising the prospect of factory shutdowns. It says companies that use semiconductors are down to less than five days of inventory. The department cited its survey of 150 companies that found chip inventories had dropped sharply from 40 days in 2019. The chips used in the production of automobiles and medical devices are especially scarce. The department said demand for chips was up 17% last year from 2019. (Photo: AP)
January 25, 2022 4:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Pentagon says Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered about 8,500 U.S. troops on heightened alert, preparing for possible deployment to Europe, if needed, to reassure NATO allies in the face of Russian aggression on the border of Ukraine. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Monday no final decisions have been made on U.S. deployments, but the troops need to be ready. Actual deployment could depend upon NATO deciding to activate its rapid-response force. In any event, the troops would not be sent to Ukraine itself, which is not a NATO member. Kirby said, “What this is about is reassurance to our NATO allies.”
January 25, 2022 4:06 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s state Senate majority leader says a partisan stalemate remains unbroken on a new map of congressional district boundaries for the state, and she predicted that the state’s highest court will end up settling the matter. Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland, told a Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon Monday that Senate Republicans have tried unsuccessfully thus far to broker an agreement between the Republican-controlled House, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Democratic lawmakers. She says they can’t agree and the courts will end up drawing maps. Monday was also the court-imposed deadline for parties – including Wolf, Republican lawmakers and Democratic lawmakers – to submit proposed maps to it.
January 25, 2022 4:03 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – President Joe Biden will be coming to Pittsburgh this Friday. Here’s what the White House said about his visit: “On Friday, January 28, the President will travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to discuss strengthening the nation’s supply chains, revitalizing American manufacturing, creating good-paying, union jobs, and building a better America, including through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.” It’s not clear yet where Biden will be visiting or when on Friday he’ll arrive.
January 25, 2022 2:12 am
A verdict has been reached in the non-jury trial of a Virginia truck driver who struck and killed another truck driver while tending to his disabled truck on Interstate 70 last year. Hosea Holcomb, 28 has been found guilty of striking and killing John Isenberg of Ohio. Video testimony showed Holcomb falling asleep at the wheel of his truck and swerving between lanes of traffic and the shoulder of the road before striking Isenberg. Holcomb did not stop after the accident and was pulled over by state police roughly 10 miles further east on Interstate 70. Holcomb is guilty of felony homicide by vehicle and accident causing death. He was also found guilty of four other summary offenses. In the order handed down late Friday by Judge Gary Gilman, Holcomb will be sentenced on April 8.
January 24, 2022 5:24 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. health officials say COVID-19 antibody drugs from Regeneron and Eli Lilly should no longer be used because they are unlikely to work against the omicron variant. The Food and Drug Administration said Monday it is revoking emergency authorization for both drugs. If they prove effective against future variants, the FDA says it can reauthorize their use. The move was expected because both drugmakers had previously said their drugs are less effective against omicron. Still, the federal action could trigger pushback from some Republican governors who have continued promoting the drugs against the advice of health experts.
